Notch proposes Quake match to settle Scrolls dispute with Zenimax

Markus "Notch" Persson has challenged Bethesda to a Quake 3 tournament to settle the legal dispute over the Scrolls trademark, claiming that if he loses he'll change the name to whatever they wish.

Sometimes legal disputes are settled out of court, but rarely are they settled via old-fashioned video game showdown. That's the solution proposed by Markus "Notch" Persson, whose company Mojang was recently targeted for legal action over the title of their upcoming Scrolls. Bethesda parent company ZeniMax claims it infringes on their trademark, due to its similarity to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

After returning from his recent honeymoon (mazel tov!), Persson blogged about his plan. "The only negative thing going on at this moment is the Scrolls trademark lawsuit nonsense, and I think I came up with the perfect solution," he wrote. "I challenge Bethesda to a game of Quake 3. Three of our best warriors against three of your best warriors. We select one level, you select the other, we randomize the order. 20 minute matches, highest total frag count per team across both levels wins."

And the prize? "If we win, you drop the lawsuit. If you win, we will change the name of Scrolls to something you're fine with. Regardless of the outcome, we could still have a small text somewhere saying our game is not related to your game series in any way, if you wish." And lest someone think this is Persson cracking a joke, he closes with: "I am serious, by the way."

It's important to note, though, that while Persson addresses Bethesda directly, the initial legal letter came from "a representative of the company ZeniMax Media." ZeniMax Media owns Bethesda and Quake-developer id, which should theoretically give ZeniMax an upper hand if the match were to go through.

Of course, the chances of anyone at ZeniMax or Bethesda actually taking on this offer are approximately 0.0%. But you can't fault a guy for trying.

Steve Watts

Editor-In-Chief

Steve Watts' youthful memories are are a blur of pixels, princesses, castles, and Mega Busters. After writing about games as a pastime for years, he got his first shot at a paid gig at 1UP. He's freelanced for several sites since then, and found a friendly home at Shacknews. His editorial duties include news, reviews, features, and lunatic ravings. He lives in the Baltimore-Washington area with his shockingly understanding wife.